Letters to the Editor

Published 10:58 am, Monday, March 31, 2014

Tough has had positive impact on community

To the editor:

I am writing in response to Rich Morgan’s letter to the editor in last week’s Villager. When your driveways are only 10 feet apart, you know the character of your neighbor for 16 years.

Our next-door neighbor is Bruce Tough. We have seen him as a kind, loving and amazing father and husband to his daughters Madison, Tara, Abby, Sydney and his wife Diana. As a neighbor we know, when we’re out of town on vacation, our house is taken care of without even asking. We have watched him volunteer thousands of hours for our community.

The Woodlands is one of the greatest places to live in Texas. Bruce Tough and volunteers like him have worked endlessly to make it a safe and wonderful place for our families to grow up. I felt the need to respond because it disappoints me when I see people uninformed making statements as if they were facts. Mr. Morgan describing Bruce as a career politician when Bruce has worked as an unpaid volunteer in every position he has held is dishonest and disrespectful. He has been a hardworking leader and volunteer for our community.

Morgan describes the negotiated separation for The Woodlands as a sham. I was told by someone there that the negotiation was like balancing a BB on a razor blade. We have family living in Kingwood and Clear Lake, both annexed by Houston, and all would love to have gotten the deal that was negotiated for us in The Woodlands.

I understand in life there always will be people who complain no matter how hard volunteers work for us in our neighborhoods, on school boards and township. Thank goodness for them all and a neighbor like Bruce Tough who always stays positive and just keeps on going.

Will Mattern

The Woodlands

Township vote was a win for community

To the editor:

I am writing to officially question the objectivity of Rich Morgan in his letter to the editor of The Villager titled “Township Payoff to Houston Was a Sham” in the March 27 paper. His lack of understanding on the issue is shown by the number of incorrect statements he makes and the factual admissions missing in his negative comments. I won’t take the space to correct all of his mistakes and omissions but will try to provide a better view of the truth.

The Town Center Improvement District and the Community Association of The Woodlands researched the issue with residents and businesses to determine their basic desires. The ballot phasing was approved by the boards of these organizations, which represented over 35 directors. The voter turnout was the largest by far in Woodlands election history and overwhelmingly approved creation of The Woodlands Township.

The community decided to “compromise” with the city of Houston to obtain an objective that it felt worthwhile and then celebrated the success. It also left 50 years for the community to seek a more permanent form of governance as conditions changed. All it takes is for the residents to encourage this action when a governance form is available that corrects the issues we still have.

The innovation of this approach was the result of input from throughout the community. Bruce Tough was one of the leaders of these directors that made it possible. His business experience, honesty and conservative leadership have served the community well. Rich, please try to research the issues a little more, celebrate the positive and cut out the negative.

Lloyd Matthews

The Woodlands

Ask residents about all the special events scheduled

To the editor:

I request our elected officials ask residents about bikes and events before making moves that can be hard to reverse.

We already are a great community and “on the map” - we do not have to make residents unhappy in hopes of attracting an imagined, desirable demographic. We are not Portland, Austin or New York - we are The Woodlands and it is not likely those places reflect what we want. Our businesses are doing well and are not entitled to upset the tenor of our peaceful hometown, even if such special treatment does improve their business.

Please do not feel that just because a small group is well organized and persistent that it is OK to grant them special rights or consideration. Lofty words like “mobility,” “sharing” and “corridors” should fool no one into assuming the proffered idea is a good one.

Hopefully, all elected officials see through the attempted manipulation of a “bronze rating” - clever hope to get you motivated to move up their rainbow of demands.

Please talk to community leaders of the neighborhood off Woodlane Boulevard, right behind The Woodlands and let them tell of “hordes” of cyclists, law enforcement issues, tragic accidents and terrible manners. Hearing how their homes have been disrupted, you might forgive them if they liken the more aggressive bicyclist movements to a cancer.

Let’s keep our roadways safe for cars and, with over 150 miles of bike paths, let’s be proud we provide so much resource and safety for our cyclists.

Finally, the weeks of ugly, orange street signs that would normally violate our covenants might be one of the many reasons most of us wish we could just say “no” to so many special-interest events - many of us feel our majority interest is under-represented. Please, ask us about these things.

Tom Sloan, M.D.

The Woodlands

See through the political smoke and vote for Doyal

To the editor:

During the county judge primary campaign, I remember The Villager reporting allegations from one of Craig Doyal’s opponents that one of the major problems facing Montgomery County is its supposedly huge amount of debt. What a joke. Not only is the county’s debt not a problem, we actually are in much better shape than counties of comparable size, according to information provided by County Judge Alan B. Sadler.

Sadler, referring to a letter from the county’s financial adviser, pointed out that Montgomery County has the lowest net debt and lowest net debt per capita of any of our comparable counties. The counties closest in size include Williamson, Fort Bend, Denton and Galveston.

I don’t understand why Craig Doyal’s opponents feel compelled to just make things up. Oh wait, I do understand — when you can’t run on the facts or on your own record, that’s what you do — make stuff up.

These claims were made during the primary race and now we are going to the runoff election May 27, and Craig Doyal’s opponent won’t even show up for open debate and allow questions or give answers to the taxpayers he wants to vote for him.

I have told many of you before that Mark Bosma plays the game in back rooms with smoke and mirrors; and when confronted, he does not respond to emails or phone calls.

I hope The Villager’s readers see through these tactics and vote to elect Craig Doyal in the runoff election May 27.

Ann Carr

Which experts should decide water issue?

To the editor:

Congratulations to the city of Willis, city of Montgomery and the other utility districts that bucked the experts at the San Jacinto River Authority and drilled wells into the Catahoula. Instead of seeing water rates increasing, Willis Public Works Director Arthur Faiello stated, “That $96,976.00 would’ve gone to the SJRA as part of its Groundwater Reduction Plan. Instead our residents will see a decrease in water rates.”

Some have said to leave the water issues to the experts. My question is which experts should we leave the water issues with? Is it the experts who explore options and save their rate-payers money, or the experts who spend money with no regard to the rate-payers? Do these experts have a conflict of interest with positions on the Lone Star Groundwater Conservation District board, SJRA board, and whose business it is to supply water to The Woodlands? Personally, I would want the experts who work for the rate-payers and can be replaced by the rate-payers, if necessary, with a democratic vote.

SJRA lists the costs of constructing water pipelines from Lake Conroe to The Woodlands and city of Conroe, but what are the associated costs for the damaged roads along these routes. McCaleb Road has become a very dangerous road for drivers, and has been completely destroyed by construction equipment, and will need extensive repairs. The residents of Willis, Montgomery and some utility districts are achieving successful water solutions, while Montgomery County residents are getting a double whammy: 1) paying SJRA for the Groundwater Reduction Plan, and 2) paying for the roads that are being destroyed by SJRA construction projects.

Harvey Yaw

Experts work together on water issue

To the editor:

Contrary to a statement by Harvey Yaw in his letter to the editor, Willis didn’t “buck the experts at the San Jacinto River Authority” by drilling two wells into the Catahoula aquifer. Willis and SJRA are partners on the project.

That’s the benefit of a regional, cooperative program like SJRA’s Joint Groundwater Reduction Plan. Willis isn’t just saving money for customers. Because Willis is a partner in a joint GRP with over 85 other utilities across Montgomery County, the benefits achieved on the SJRA/Willis project are shared by all partners. In return, Willis’ customers don’t have to face the risks of developing a new water source on their own. The other partners in the GRP agreed to share the financial risks of developing these two wells and exploring this potential new water supply because they believe it is worth the risk to gain a better understanding of the Catahoula.

Yaw did make a valid point in his letter, albeit indirectly - there is no single, “be all and end all” expert on water issues in Montgomery County. Every city and utility is responsible for researching water supply options and deciding what’s best for customers. That’s exactly what has happened. For utilities in Northwest Montgomery County where the Catahoula contains water that doesn’t require expensive treatment or an extensive transmission system, many utilities have decided to do their own GRPs. Cities and utilities all over the county have used their own experts to research their water supply options. The SJRA put together a plan and put it on the table as an option for utilities. The plan involves a countywide approach that takes advantage of regional cooperation and economies of scale. And, importantly, it encourages individual partners to continue exploring cheaper options and even supports those projects financially when requested, as in the case of Willis.

As for McCaleb Road and other parts of Montgomery County, we recognize that our project is creating some disruption. I can assure you that we have been working hard to minimize the effects of our project, and we will continue to do so. I also can assure you that we will clean up our messes and return public right of way and easement areas we have affected to as good or better condition than prior to construction. This project will end Montgomery County’s reliance on a single water source (groundwater) and give us the security of having access to multiple sources. It will ensure the reliability of our county’s water supplies, on a regional basis, for decades. The cost of repairing roads and returning areas to good condition is part of the process and has been anticipated since the project began, and it is a small (often negligible) price to pay compared to the benefits of a secure, reliable water supply.